Opinion + Mobile | The Guardianhttps://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/commentisfree+technology/mobile
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Why do we buy phones with so many features, then only play Candy Crush? | Emma Brockeshttps://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/emma-brockes-column/2014/jun/19/amazon-fire-phone-feature-creep
<p>The Amazon Fire phone is yet another example that the least impressive part of any new device is the human attached to it</p><p>When <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2014/06/18/amazon-smartphone/10751663/">Amazon launched</a> its much anticipated new smartphone, <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/jun/18/amazon-fire-phone-apple-google">the Amazon Fire</a>, on Wednesday, most of the marketing emphasis revolved around feature creep – the exciting and potentially useless extension of the frontiers of phone innovation.</p><p>Among what <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/parmyolson/2014/06/17/amazons-phone-launch-content-control/">Forbes magazine called</a><b> </b>"an alluring ecosystem of apps and content", the Amazon smartphone's new features include: cameras in all four corners of the device; "face-sensing" technology to track your head and eyes as you use it; 3D images; and something called "Firefly", a tab that allows users to point the phone at "over 100 million" items to bring up information about what it is "seeing".</p><p>Even people who cherish the idea of progress, and point to improvements like the eradication of contagious diseases and the education of girls, have been hard-pressed to hold on to it while reckoning with two World Wars, the Holocaust and Hiroshima, genocide and global warming. Replacing "progress" with "innovation" skirts the question of whether a novelty is an improvement: the world may not be getting better and better but our devices are getting newer and newer.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/emma-brockes-column/2014/jun/19/amazon-fire-phone-feature-creep">Continue reading...</a>Amazon.comSmartphonesE-commerceInternetiPhoneAppleMobile phonesTelecomsMobileGamesMobile phonesThu, 19 Jun 2014 10:45:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/emma-brockes-column/2014/jun/19/amazon-fire-phone-feature-creepPhotograph: JASON REDMOND/REUTERSEven Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos takes selfies and probably doesn't use half the features on his phone. Photograph: Ted S Warren / AP Photograph: Jason Redmond / ReutersPhotograph: JASON REDMOND/REUTERSEven Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos takes selfies and probably doesn't use half the features on his phone. Photograph: Ted S Warren / AP Photograph: Jason Redmond / ReutersEmma Brockes2014-06-19T10:45:00ZHow a Dream PetHouse turned into an expensive nightmare | Harry Dayhttps://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/apr/25/dream-pethouse-nightmare-ipad-app
An iPad app aimed at children allows vast amounts of money to be traded for virtual fruit and seeds – as we found to our cost<p>My seven-year-old sister Lily is scarily competent with technology; she can change my phone's screensaver, send a text message and download apps. The flipside to this is that she is also a target for the games industry. It is easy to see why, considering she recently racked up a £200 bill feeding an imaginary animal apples and seeds on a supposedly free iPad app.</p><p>Having had his debit card blocked due to an uncharacteristic amount of spending (£200 had been spent on his iTunes account in a matter of days), my dad assumed that some kind of fraud had taken place; after numerous phone calls and emails to Apple, we found out that the money had all been charged to a game called <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/dream-pethouse/id485164994?mt=8" title="">Dream PetHouse</a>. Once we established that my dad had not been indulging a penchant for animated companions, all eyes turned to my little sister, who promptly burst into tears.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/apr/25/dream-pethouse-nightmare-ipad-app">Continue reading...</a>Simulation gamesAppsMobileiPadAppleComputingTablet computersTechnologyGamesChildrenSocietyInternetCultureWed, 25 Apr 2012 08:00:06 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/apr/25/dream-pethouse-nightmare-ipad-appPhotograph: Rob Watkins / Alamy/Alamy'Small children are now incredibly skilled with technology.' Photograph: Rob Watkins/AlamyPhotograph: Rob Watkins / Alamy/Alamy'Small children are now incredibly skilled with technology.' Photograph: Rob Watkins/AlamyHarry Day2012-04-25T08:00:06Z